The conversations between Steve Cohen and Brian Musburger began in Chicago in 2015 while the city welcomed the next generation of the NFL. Two years before the official launch of the Vegas Stats and Information Network (VSiN), Cohen provided suggestions to the founding group to create a vertical that would make an impact in the niche format as more consumers began betting on sports. Over his years working as the senior vice president of sports programming at SiriusXM, he had successfully built a variety of domains for consumers to discover specified content tailored to their proclivities. The paradigm ushered in several league partners, play-by-play rights and a new era of sports talk on satellite radio.
In the last fiscal year, SiriusXM underwent a reverse stock split as part of a reorganization and merger with Liberty Media Corporation. Additionally, the company revealed a refreshed brand identity and reimagined streaming application implementing a simplified user interface. Ahead of these changes though, Cohen could evince that the economic situation had changed regarding the price of play-by-play broadcasting rights.
Since these broadcasts are the most important for sports channels on SiriusXM, the network had to allocate its funds in that area and diminish some of its investment into sports talk radio. Thinking about the situation, Cohen determined that he would be unable to continue to grow the platform in the way he hoped, indicating that it was time for him to take a step back. The amicable decision resulted in him signing a one-year advisory deal last March through which he continued to advise the outlet.
“It wasn’t exactly what I wanted to do anymore, and I just put my personal life ahead of my business life, and I’m really glad that I did it because I speak with my friends at SiriusXM every day,” Cohen said. “I mean, they’re family members, and that’s never going to change whether I work for Sirius or not.”
VSiN successfully launched in 2017 and broadcast from a studio at the South Point Casino, leveraging its position in the marketplace with acclaimed broadcasters such as Brent Musburger and Al Bernstein. Sports gambling journalists and oddsmakers contributed to creating a comprehensive multiplatform product that was purchased by DraftKings four years later for $70 million. Throughout their partnership, VSiN programming was presented on the DraftKings Network in addition to being available to watch through its FAST channel and select regional sports networks. The network currently operates out of studios at the Circa Resort & Casino and The D Hotel & Casino in downtown Las Vegas and produces approximately 18 hours of live, daily weekday programming.
Cohen’s one-year deal with SiriusXM expired earlier in the year, leading him to begin performing advisory work for Brian Musburger and Bill Adee in June. Through conversations ahead of Super Bowl LVIII, he learned that they were hoping to purchase the company back from DraftKings. If the transaction proved successful, Cohen was offered to join the company in any role that he wanted ranging from advising to running programming entirely. The reacquisition of VSiN was finalized towards the end of July, officially placing the entity back under the control of Musburger Media while retaining DraftKings as an advertising partner.
“They got their deal done and they were like, ‘Well, do you want to run this thing for us?’” Cohen said. “I looked at it and told them what I could do and what I’d like to do, and they’re like, ‘Great, let’s do it,’ so we put a deal together, and I’m thrilled with the outcome.”
As the global pandemic resulted in companies adopting remote and/or hybrid workflows, Cohen became more apt to managing from afar. When he was working for SiriusXM, Cohen managed teams from New York City, Washington, D.C., Nashville and Los Angeles, and he did not detect it impeding his overall workflow. Cohen considered other ventures in considering the next steps for his career, one of which was working on documentaries. Yet he questioned how he would take part in such projects that may not be released for three years after working in a dynamic environment for nearly four decades. In the end, he decided to move back into real-time programming because of the aptitude and passion he has for the occupation.
“Even though I’ve had great titles, I’m not a suit,” Cohen said, “so my job is to maximize the potential of each and every programming employee at VSiN, and so that’s the mission.”
Although Cohen will make frequent trips to Las Vegas, he will largely operate from a remote setting and gauge its current slate of programming. Cohen expects to make a variety of changes, but not before consulting with company employees and viewers of the content. In fact, he was in Las Vegas earlier this week where he had a chance to see the studios, meet staff members and observe the production.
“We have a lot of talent, and so that’s a great thing, but my feeling is I can create a better gameplan than the one they’ve had to carry out their programming mission,” Cohen said. “I think implementing that is really going to maximize the potential of VSiN and maximize the potential of our audience.”
For example, Cohen asked why one host who displayed expertise in horse racing was not providing daily picks regarding the sport, something that will now be instantiated on the network. Furthermore, he questioned why there has been a lack of fantasy sports discussion, especially as consumers prepare for their fantasy football drafts.
VSiN is currently considering a search for several partnerships in order to effectuate added brand equity and aggregate proliferation, adopting a similar mentality that precipitated the growth of SiriusXM Fantasy Sports Radio. By providing fantasy sports enthusiasts with what they wanted, the entity became one of the most popular sports talk channels at SiriusXM, a success that he hopes to replicate with VSiN.
“For me, it’s always been a ‘one hand washes the other, both hands wash the face’ mentality when it comes to partnerships,” Cohen said, “so I think we’re in a great position now to partner with all the top folks that are in the business, and so that’s what we’re looking to do and that helps us grow.”
During his formative years in the sports media business, Cohen gained expertise from various industry luminaries and traditional media outlets. In a conversation with football reporter Peter King, he gave Cohen the idea to start a newsletter, which in turn prompted him to launch the first iteration of the Pro Football News and Injury Report. While he remained at WFAN where he served in roles including producing, beat reporting and hosting, he was also compiling the latest developments around the NFL.
“I knew the information was important to Mike [Francesa] and Bill [Parcells], and if it was important to Mike and Bill, it certainly was important to the average football fan, especially the enthusiastic football fans who would wager on games and also were in fantasy football leagues, so it was valuable information,” Cohen said. “It was information that couldn’t be found anywhere else.”
Cohen started working for SiriusXM in May 2004 as its director of NFL programming and was named the vice president of sports four months later. The satellite radio company had 250,000 subscribers when he first arrived, many of whom were truckers who would drive across the country and listen to the content.
SiriusXM now has 34 million subscribers who listen to its radio channels and podcast offerings spanning a multitude of genres. Cohen believed in the product from the beginning, remarking at the array of content and accessibility around the country. The steady foundation allowed him to construct and maintain sports radio channels, including NFL Radio, NASCAR Radio and Mad Dog Sports Radio.
“I think each and every sports radio station we programmed was very relevant because we did so many things that had never been done before, whether it’s having every game and every broadcast of every professional league, every race, every golf tournament – it was amazing what we created and what people still can get from a SiriusXM subscription,” Cohen said. “I think when you do things better than anyone else, you become very relevant, and that’s what we did at SiriusXM.”
As someone who has performed virtually every role behind-the-scenes in the media industry, Cohen wants to hear the opinions of everyone involved with the venture to better guide resolutions. Akin to concerns he has regarding the sports talk radio format, VSiN will need to replenish its staff after losing members of the team contemporaneous with DraftKings selling the company back to Musburger Media. Once this process is completed, the company will be able to move towards implementing some of the ideas that Cohen has to help it become even more successful.
“I believe in, ‘We’re in the communications business – let’s communicate,’” Cohen said, “and so before I ask associate producers and producers currently who are putting in a lot of hours to do even more, I need to lighten their load in some aspects to bring in new people to do that so I can get our top folks to do the things from a communication standpoint that will help us grow.”
In a quest to claim a spot at the top of the marketplace, Cohen is conducting an ostensible review of VSiN processes and programming to gauge necessary actions. Part of the reason he decided to take the job was his avidity for live programming, and he wants to deliver an enthralling consumer experience featuring salient points and thought-provoking conversation. Once the platform achieves that goal, Cohen will feel as if it has “arrived as a channel” and move from there.
“I’m trying to figure out who my starting lineups are going to be and who my impact players are going to be, so it’s a bit premature to say exactly what that will be, but I know I’m dealing with a lot of talent here,” Cohen said. “We’ve got some great talent, and so I just think we need to hone the game plan and get the talent to a place where they’re making that 20-minute experience for the consumer a great one.”
Throughout the process of determining the next steps to position VSiN to attain strong viewership and revenue for years to come, Cohen will use the lessons he learned at SiriusXM and beyond to execute his role with aplomb. With a demonstrated track record of crafting new and innovative productions that are able to withstand market headwinds, he is optimistic that he will help VSiN benefit and further establish itself in the niche area. By focusing on the content itself and its subsequent distribution promoting convenience, coherence and connected to the pulse of the audience, Cohen believes that VSiN content will be able to thrive and promote responsible gambling.
“I hope that anyone who is looking for content is going to call us and see if they can work out a deal to bring our content to their radio network, their regional sports network and all of the above,” Cohen said. “This is content that they know that the people who tune in to their service want, and they want to come to us for the absolute best product available anywhere.”
Derek Futterman is an associate editor and sports media reporter for Barrett Media. Additionally, he has worked in a broad array of roles in multimedia production – including on live game broadcasts and audiovisual platforms – and in digital content development and management. He previously interned for Paramount within Showtime Networks, wrote for the Long Island Herald and served as lead sports producer at NY2C. To get in touch, find him on X @derekfutterman.
